Malström
Graintable Synthesizer
Well here we are again,before I start I would like to say starting next
month I will be posting email questions and an answer. If I dont know the answer
I will do my best to try and find it for you. This month Reason 2.0.
Reason is a successful software program for both Windows and Mac platforms that
emulates a rack of electronic synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, FX’s and
sequencers. Though only released in December 2000, Reason has already received
many prestigious industry awards.
New Features in Reason 2.0 include:
Malström Graintable Synthesizer
A new invention from Propellerheads that combines granular synthesis with
wavetable synthesis. Graintables are extremely flexible and expressive sound
sources, which allow for comprehensive manipulation. This includes being able to
move through a sound by controlling the movement with real-time controllers,
velocity, modulators and finding exciting new possibilities by controlling the
spectral harmonics of the Graintable.
To that comes the filter and crunch sections. Malström’s two filters both have 5
different modes including 12dB/oct low pass, band-pass, subtractive and additive
comb-filters and an AM mode. A shared filter envelope is also included which can
control either or both of the filter sections at the same time.
As an integrate part of the second filter, the Shaper adds another dimension to
Malström. It basically shapes the input signal with either a sine wave, noise or
can transform the sound using saturation, digital distortion or bit-reduction.
Furthermore the oscillators can be routed in many different ways to the two
filter sections providing a vast amount of sound manipulation options.
Malström also feature 2 modulators/LFO’s with a wide variety of curves
available. Used in One-shot mode these can be used to generate interesting
attacks or envelopes and can also be used as tempo sync’ed LFO’s.
As you would expect from a Reason device, the most dynamic sound generating
parameters can be controlled using CV and Gate controls from the Matrix
sequencer or other Reason devices. Malström even provides audio inserts between
oscillators and filters with the added benefit of being able to use both filters
as standalone devices. Malström’s truly unique and interesting sound is destined
to make it a favorite among Reason users.
What’s Graintable Synthesis?
Sure you want to know how Graintable synthesis works? Ok, here’s the academic
explanation.
Graintable synthesis is neither granular nor wavetable synthesis but a
combination of the best of both methods. The results are exciting, controllable,
and texturally extremely varied.
The basis of a Graintable is a sampled sound, which has been pre-processed using
an extremely academic and complex method. A whole leaflet would be needed just
to describe this. Suffice to say, the result is a perfect set of periodic
waveforms that, due to the pre-processing, can be manipulated in a variety of
ways. The Graintable can be treated as a wavetable: sweep through it, move
through it at any speed without affecting pitch, play any little section
repeatedly, use it to pick static waveforms, jump between positions, etc.
Granular tricks can also be performed on the Graintable. One of those tricks is
the Shift function, which uses resampling to manipulate each grain in order to
shift the formant of the Graintable through the harmonic spectra without
altering the pitch.
The Index parameter controls the position in the Graintable currently played.
Sweeping the Index is being done by using real-time controllers or modulation
and can be a powerful way of adding life to a sound. Furthermore, each
Graintable has a built-in motion that sweeps the table according to
pre-specified criteria depending on the Graintable used. In its most basic form,
Motion simply controls the speed of the Graintable playback but also controls
how a waveform is looped etc.
What does this mean musically? Well, imagine a sampled stack of detuned
sawtooths, really thick, with chorus. By controlling sweep speed you control the
fatness (down to the sound of one sawtooth). Or imagine a voice Graintable where
you can extract any vowel, sweep back and forth, and modulate the harmonic
content. Cool, isn’t it?
Yes its cool, but first and foremost musical. Graintable synthesis makes
Malstrûm a truly uniquely sounding synthesizer, ready to add a little uniqueness
to your music.
The Orkester Sound Library
Massive orchestral ReFill for the new NN-XT. Pristinely recorded and dying to be
played.
Recorded in prestigious Atlantic Studios in Stockholm, these sample patches
feature live, classically trained musicians who have been told to get into the
groove. Because more than anything else, this is a sample library for you Reason
users, and designed to blend in with the sounds from Reason’s other devices.
These slick samples will sound magical on everything from your Drum ‘n’ Bass to
your next film score, and fit like a glove on your Hip Hop and R ‘n’ B. The
Orkester NN-XT Sound Library spans from single woodwinds to complete string
sections, and covers all essential playing styles. Add some percussion and
tremolo strings to that and you have a library that will last you a lifetime.
NN-XT Advanced Sampler
A new powerhouse sampler, the NN-XT is packed with useful features to build
realistic instrument patches. Where the existing NN-19 is a “fast-track”
sampler, the new NN-XT is for more demanding sampling tasks. Powerful features
include automatic pitch detection and mapping of samples, graphical zone
editing, loop editing, layering plus zone velocity switching, and crossfading.
Each selected zone (or zones, if multiple are selected) can furthermore be
programmed individually using the extensive synthesis facilities. These include
filter with 6 different modes, 2 LFO’s, 2 envelopes, micro tuning capabilities
and routing to any of the 16 audio outputs.
The alternate function is another unique NN-XT feature. By randomly alternating
between zones whenever the same key is played repeatedly, the NN-XT makes sure
the same sample is never triggered twice in a row. The result is added realism.
For all its power, the NN-XT is as intuitive and easy to use as any of the other
Reason devices. The graphical editing display can even be folded in or out
depending on whether advanced editing is required. Macro controls located on the
front panel make editing of the most commonly used parameters a breeze and keeps
patch adjustment simple. The NN-XT also loads SoundFont 2 patches and samples
providing access to a huge existing library.
Detachable Sequencer
Reason’s main sequencer can now be pulled out of the rack and placed anywhere on
the screen.
Great things come to those who wait; In Reason 2.0, the main sequencer breaks
free from the rack and starts a life of its own, in a separate, detachable
sequencer window. All you need to do is pull it out of the rack and it will
expand across your computer screen. Now you’re free to move it around and
customize it or resize it as you desire. If you’re blessed with two monitors,
just drag the sequencer to your extra monitor, and enjoy the benefits of having
a virtual studio on one screen, and a lightning fast sequencer on the other.
For your convenience, they have expanded the sequencer toolbar and added some
new tools. This is to make your work with this already super-fast sequencer even
faster: The Zoom tool takes care of your in and out zooming, the Line tool is
for fast, accurate linear editing of automation and velocity, and the Eraser is
for quick deletion of unwanted objects.
Graphical Zone Display
Each sample is loaded into a zone and made visible in the zone-editing display.
Zones can be shortened, lengthened, copied, moved, or grouped with a minimum of
mouse clicks. The graphical display provides information about velocity range
for each zone and whether it’s selected for editing or not. As easy as it gets.
Editing a Zone
To select one or more zones for editing, simply click on them. All the
parameters in the edit module are now affecting the selected zone, providing
full control over everything from key range and loop points to modulation wheel
behavior and filtering. Too easy.
Layers and Velocity Crossfades
This is where it gets good. Zones with overlapping keyranges are automatically
layered onto each other, and there’s no limit to how complex a layered sound can
be. For velocity switching, simply change the velocity range for the overlapping
zones, and for some velocity crossfading, just adjust the fade in and out
parameters or let the NN-XT do it for you. Easy does it.
Automatic Pitch Detection
Apart from Loading and automatically mapping your Aiff and Wav files, the NN-XT
can offer another helping hand: Automatic pitch detection. The NN-XT simply
identifies the root note of each of the samples in a collection and
automatically maps it in the most intelligent way. Who said sampling had to be
difficult?
Alternating Zones
Programming a realistic emulation of an instrument is no picnic. Many acoustic
instruments sound distinctly different for every note played, and sometimes you
need to be able to alternate between two playing styles. Enter the NN-XT. The
sophisticated sampler’s “Alternate” function solves the problem automatically.
By randomly alternating between samples whenever the same key is played
repeatedly, the NN-XT makes sure the same sample is never triggered twice in a
row. The result is added realism. And the process is as easy as it is automatic.
Loading Third-party Sampler Patches
The NN-XT happily loads sampler patches from the biggest library around:
SoundFont 2 patches are not only loaded and mapped, but also retain their
programmed patch characteristics. A utility for converting third-party sample
and patch data is also on its way, providing the missing link between NN-XT and
the Akai library.
The Back
No Reason device is complete without CV and Gate inputs and outputs on the back.
And the NN-XT is no exception. This makes Reason’s samplers the only sampling
instruments around that can be controlled in the same way as analogue synths.
And with a total of 16 audio output channels, there should be plenty of scope
for further external processing.
Analog synth, sampler, drum machine, ReCycle!-based loop player, mixer, effects,
pattern sequencer, and more. As many of each as your computer can handle. Reason
is an infinitely expandable MIDI studio on a CD-ROM, complete with its own
real-time sequencer.
All the power of hardware, but without the hassle. Forget tripping on cables.
Reason doesn’t need dusting. Picking up where you left off is as simple as
turning the power on. When you save your work, your whole studio setup is stored
along with your music. You can even include actual samples, loops, and drum kits
in the file, for easy web publishing or email distribution to other Reason
users. For once, total recall is truly total.
And so is the sound. The audio quality is everything you would expect from the
people behind ReCycle! and ReBirth. But more importantly, the instruments and
effects are loaded with character and attitude. Reason will not just impress,
but inspire you.
More reasons.
There is more, of course. A lot more, Like a database for effortless file
handling. AIFF and Wave export. A ReBirth Input machine for integration between
Reason and ReBirth, Comprehensive MIDI remote control, And so on.
The graphic event editors in Reason’s sequencer are specific to the type of
device the track controls. For example, the drum machine editor has a separate
lane for pattern changes, and when editing a REX files player track (above), the
sample slices are displayed to the left, etc. And if you don’t like the default
setup, you can customize the editors
Reason’s devices not only perform like hardware, they look and feel like it too.
All front panel controls are live, move them while the sequencer is running, and
the movement will be recorded.
New OS support
Reason 2.0 fully supports both Windows XP and Mac OS X. Mac OS X support include
Core Audio, Aqua GUI and any MIDI interfaces recognized by Mac OS X.
System Requirements
Windows
Intel Pentium II/233 MHz or better
64 mb RAM
CD-rom drive
Windows 98/ME/XP/2000 or later.
256 color monitor/800x600 pixels resolution or better
16-bit windows compatible audio card, preferably with DirectX or ASIO drivers
MIDI Interface and MIDI keyboard
Mac
For Mac OS X: Any computer that runs Mac OS X 10.1 or later.
For Mac OS 9: 604, 604e, G3 or G4 processor. 166 Mhz or faster.
128 mb RAM
Mac OS 9.0 or later
CD-rom drive
256 color monitor/800x600 resolution or better
MIDI Interface and MIDI keyboard
Yes there is a demo version you can try out, just check out their site
www.propellerheads.se. for all the
information about Propellerheads Reason and look at some of the other software.
Until next month enjoy and send those questions in I will do my best to answer
them or get an answer for you.